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An ode to Coffee a.k.a. "You must respect The Bean" Recently the Hilltop Echo (my school newspaper) sported an article on Coffee, specifically the popularity, brewing, and drinking there of. This article, though well written and well referenced, contained a few errors, and did not quite convey the Passion with which a true coffee aficionado imbibes the, dare I say, sacred beverage known as Coffee. If you drink coffee from a can (horrors) or if you enjoy a bracing cup of hot McDonald's gourmet brand coffee, this treatise is not for you, stop reading now, and stop pretending that you are a Coffee Drinker! Selecting the Bean Coffee starts with The Bean. This must be meticulously grown, picked and carefully roasted to perfection. There are many sources of quality roasted Coffee beans, I prefer Baltimore Coffee and Tea (www. baltcoffee.com) or Peets (www.peets.com). Flavored Coffees are anathema and do not respect the bean. Spare me your vanilla, hazelnut, amaretto flavor...
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What I did This Summer

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I feel like the kid going back to school, and the teachers says "OK class, I want a 1-page paper about what you did this Summer". I got news 'teach' one page just won't do it! Of course, you know about the great western adventure / road trip. After that experience, I had to regroup and find my true center -- FIBER. Yep -- there's nothing like the feel of wool, mohair, silk, alpaca, running through your fingers, being spun, plied, dyed. It's an addiction, a true obsession with me, and I proved it this Summer. As summer was arriving, I was putting the finishing touches on Spinning the Wool/Alpaca blend From Ramifications for Jim's sweater (Which I called Skippin Stones), while simultaneously spinning up the FreeneCreek Farm Mer ino with the Craftsman Hill Mohair which I had just finished blending, while at the same time, spinning some cormo/angora blend from Valley Mill Fibers on the drop spindle. (YES I'm NUTS) The Merino/Mohair project would not ...
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Days 9-11 Going Home

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Just one little glitch on the trip home; after spending the night in Laramie Wyoming Tuesday, we had to drive into Cheyenne and get the oil changed. It afforded us a nice breakfast, and a slow start to the day. Strangely enough, we stopped to sleep at all the SAME places -- Winnemucca NV, Laramie WY, Grinnelle IA -- funny. Nevada Cows vs Nebraska Cows Nevada cows really have to spread out to find some grass to eat amidst all the sage brush. No clumping together in one big cow mass for them. Nebraska cows like to mill around together, there's plenty of grass, so they don't really wander far apart. Nevada and Sage Brush Nevada is just one huge sage brush factory. It's a pity we can't use it to make alternative fuel or something. Lou suggests we grind it up and sell it to China as a rare, healing herb. I figure the only really useful feature about Nevada is that if you wanted to conduct covert activities and/or avoid EPA inspections -- you're all set! You see si...
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Day 8 Old Sacramento and Back on the Road

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Jun had to fly back to L.A. -- work on Monday -- Bummer! We decided to wait to depart until Monday early evening -- that would get us back to Winnemucca -- which is as good as any place to stop. We decided to bum around Old Sacramento -- there was a hat shop there that Lou wanted to visit -- get a new straw hat for summer cowboy shoots. It was fun, a weird combination of old store fronts and modern architecture in the background. A few old timey shops, but mostly just junk, tourist stuff. The hat shop, however did not disappoint, and there were a few candy shops that provided some goodies. Once finished in Old Sacramento, we toodled off back to Davis, had an early dinner / late lunch at Dos Coyotes, packed up the car and headed off homeward bound, with a promise to call Jim each evening when we settled down.
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Day 7 Just Chillin

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Walking at Davis -- she look like she's leading him to you??? So, OK, it was 95 degrees, in the height of the day, but it's a DRY heat -- so you hardly feel it! These ducks were actually hanging out in the shade -- guess they thought it was hot too, and for them it's more of a wet heat. We were actually lucky to get this cactus flower, and I was lucky not to slide down the hillside into the algae coated stream! I was tempted to try and smell it, but the journey was fraught with danger (including the pricklies on the cactus). A welcome respite in a beautiful Gazebo. Jim is trying to avoid having his picture taken (so what else is new!) Jun and Dad, resting in the shade. I'm saying WHERE are the horses already!!! Lou was constantly off gathering some fresh grass for these beauties to nibble on. I did not get a SINGLE picture of that! (slaps hand to forehead)
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Day 6 Wine Country with the Kids

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Getting the antiques was a great relief. Once they were safely stored in Jim's garage, we were free to have some fun with the kids. We only had the weekend, but that's ok, it's the quality not the quantity that counts. Saturday was Wine country and then a FABULOUS dinner at La Provence (http://laprovenceroseville.com/). Jim and Jun checked it out last year, while trying to decide on a restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. They felt it would be a lit tle pricey, so Lou and I decided it would make for a nice, just the four of us, place to eat. We only visited a few vintners in wine country, Hess was definitely the best of the two, and that's where all the pics are from. Sunday we just hung out in Davis. Jim took us on a nice long walk at the university, culminating in a visit with some very nice horses. Lou went scrounging all over the place to give them a few handfuls of fresh grass, not a mean feat since they keep the grounds so well groomed! The horses really ...
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Day 5 -- Off to Oregon

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Not the best picture of Lake Shasta, but trees and things kept getting in the way. Never a disappointment -- Shasta in the distance! Well, once you reach your destination, it seems you are busier than a 1-armed paper hanger! We got in to Davis mid-day Thursday, and were off to the Wilds of Oregon at 5:00 a.m. the next morning. We WERE well rested, though and it was a beautiful day for traveling. Jim was happy to stay in bed and wait for us to get home later that day, he stopped being a morning person a long time ago. First stop in Oregon was Ramifications, and my good friend Sharon Allen. She has -- you guessed it FIBER! I had her holding some dark wool with bits of red/blue/lavender for me and I told her I'd buy all she had (around 5 'bumps'). I was going to be a good girl, but Lou said "is that all you're getting??? We traveled 3,000 miles and that's ALL you're gonna buy???" You don't have to tell me twice, I bought all she had of a blend ...
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